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Thursday, July 30, 2015

Guest Blog and Giveaway The Awakening of Tara by Sara McBride

When I decided to write my first paranormal erotic romance novel I decided to write about what I knew. I fully realize that statement sounds absurd. What could I possibly know about paranormal erotic romance? I’m an ex-fitness professional from Southern California who grew up in Michigan, so magic really isn’t a part of my world, but I’m definitely a believer in the paranormal. A few years ago my husband and I were in Barbados and I was teaching yoga at a high-end resort. I was teaching yoga class first thing in the morning and again at sunset every evening but the rest of the week was ours to savor.

On the first day of our stay I noticed a small shack just down the road from our hotel that had a sign out front that read “Handmade Jewelry and Psychic Readings.” Being a big believer in the occult and magic I stopped in. The woman who ran the shop was incredibly sweet and did the most spot-on reading I’ve ever had. She claimed to be a witch and sold me a “love potion” that I believe brought us our daughter. Over the course of our week on this incredible island, we ran into a multitude of people who saw themselves as witches, including one of our waitresses and several women on the beach who did palm readings and offered magical implements. After talking to these people, what I discovered was that the Island had a long history of magic.

When I decided to write this book I couldn’t think of a more magical place to set my story. First of all the island is one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean, boasting white sand powder beaches and brilliant turquoise water along with some of the friendliest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.

For me this place embodied what I wanted for my characters and their story: Paradise with an undercurrent of magic. The following images are of places that I put in my story that are actually on the island of Barbados.

The Awakening of Tara

Charmed in Paradise Series

Book One

Sara McBride

Genre: Paranormal Romance/ BBW Witches and Wizards

Publisher: MLF Press

Date of Publication: July 15th 2015

ASIN: B010MFYDP0

Number of pages: 77

Word Count: 24975

Book Description:

Tara’s a big girl whose life is in shambles. Her fiancé left her for some skinny little bitch, work is overwhelming and her self-esteem has been shredded. So when her best friend suggests a vacation on the tropical paradise island of Barbados, she jumps at the chance.

A freak accident on a Caribbean beach leaves Tara with a magical gift that makes her virtually irresistible to men, rebuilds her broken self-esteem and introduces her to a mystical world of witches and wizards as well as one of the sexiest mega millionaire pro athletes on the planet.

When an evil billionaire wizard decides to take what he wants, the real question is, can Tara and her friends escape this adventure with their lives.

Radella
tried to keep the emotion from showing on her face. She and her people had been
down here for a month asking questions and no one said a word about the box.
This was the first solid lead they had. She felt her heart skip a beat.

“So
what’s this box look like?” she asked coolly.

Kai
didn’t take his eyes off her. She could tell he was trying to decide how
valuable this information was to her. “Just like you described it. Old dark
wood with shiny white squares across the top… real fancy. People say some woman
that works down on the beach selling junk and telling fortunes has it.”

Now it
was Radella’s turn to smirk. “You got anything else?”

Kai
didn’t say anything for a couple of beats. Radella knew he was up to something
and he was trying to decide what his next move should be.

“Look,
I know this box is worth a lot to you. Tell you what, for another $500 me and
Navas will steal this box from her and bring it to you. What do you say?”

Radella
smiled, crossed her arms and gazed directly at Kai. “No, I’ll get the box
myself.”

This
clearly wasn’t what Kai expected her to say. “What do you mean you’ll get the
box yourself? You don’t even know who this bitch is. I KNOW who this bitch is!”

In her
peripheral vision, Radella saw Navas begin to inch in towards her and saw one
of his hands go, without any attempt to conceal the movement, into his back
pocket. She took a half step back, but kept her eyes on both men.

“This
island isn’t that big, so finding someone who sells souvenirs and tells
fortunes on the beach isn’t going to be that hard.”

Navas
turned to his brother. “Fool, you told her too much!”

“Shut
up Navas!” Kai shouted.

As the
two brothers stared each other down Radella took another step back as she
continued to talk.

“Besides,
I’ve known from the beginning that I couldn’t trust you two. If you stole the
box and the things we want are actually inside, you’d either steal them and try
to sell them yourself, or you would try to make me pay you some ridiculous
price to give me the things I already paid you to get. As I said, I’ll get the
box myself.”

A look
passed between the brothers. Navas produced a large folding knife from his back
pocket and flipped the blade open. Kai picked up what looked like a bowie knife
from under a pile of food wrappers on the table.

“Fine,
have it your way,” whispered Kai. “But it’s going to cost you $500 to get out
of the house alive.”

Radella
gave them both an icy, appraising stare. “I didn’t bring any money.”

Navas
spoke up. “That’s not a problem. We’ll just take the necklace.” With a wide
grin he gestured toward the star pendant hanging around her boney neck.

Radella
smiled back and reached down taking the star pendant in both hands pointing the
large stone in the direction of the two men.

“You
mean this old thing?” The emerald began to glow and Radella began to chant,
“Lamina lamina lamna, inermis, prehendo, fervens, letum!”

A
flash of green light filled the room and then it was gone. Kai and Navas were
taken aback, but Kai recovered quickly enough.

“Nice
trick lady. But that ain’t gonna help you. Now hand over the necklace.”

Radella’s
eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Gentlemen,
I have good news and I have bad news.” She smiled. “Let’s start with the bad
news. I’m a witch and I’ve put a spell on your knives.” She stopped and thought
for a second. “That’s not entirely true. I’ve actually put four spells on your
knives.”

She held up her index finger. “The first spell
won’t allow your knives to harm me.”

She
held up a second finger. “The second spell won’t allow either of you to let go
of your knives.”

She
held up her third finger. “The third spell will make your knives begin to grow
hotter and hotter until finally the metal and whatever else they happen to be
made of burns away or melts.”

She
paused for dramatic effect, and then finished.

“You
can just imagine what that will do to your hands.”

She
smiled brightly at both men.

“Now
here is the good news. The fourth spell is your way out. All you have to do is kill your brother with
your knife,” She looked at Kai then over at Navas, “and the spell is broken.
Your knife cools off and you can set it down.”

Radella
started toward the door but Navas lunged at her, leading with the wicked
looking blade pointed at her throat. But he never came close. The knife swung
away like her body was the bad side of a magnet, slashing harmlessly through
the air.

Kia
leapt forward, stabbing at Radella’s torso but again the knife was repulsed,
the tip wrenching straight up before it reached her, leaving the man standing
holding the knife over his head.

The
brothers looked at each other with panic-stricken eyes. Navas tried to open his
hand and let the knife fall to the floor but his fingers stayed clamped like a
vice on the handle of the folding knife.

Kai
tried to throw his bowie knife but had no more success than his brother.

Radella
turned lightly and as she reached the door she heard Kai cry out in pain. The
knives were beginning to heat up. She smiled contentedly and turned to study
the two brothers as they began to stalk each other around the room.

“Oh,
and did I mention that you have about five minutes? Her smirk widened to a full
skeletal grin.

“Have
a nice evening, gentlemen.”

About the Author:

When a life-changing injury forced her to give up a successful career as a personal trainer, Sara McBride did what any girl with the gift for gab and a typing speed that is freakishly fast would do—become a paranormal BBW erotic romance writer.

Long frustrated with the fitness industry’s lack of acceptance that many people naturally have a body mass index above the “normal” range, she has always championed acceptance and wellness for all—not just those crazy people who love to exercise. Viva la BBW!

A lifelong reader of fantasy and paranormal fiction, Sara lives with her very patient husband and two small children who now begin every sentence with “As soon as you’re finished writing that chapter, could we….”

Her license plate holder reads “My other car is a broom.”

This is her first work of fiction.

If you would like to read Sara’s blog or sign up for an email letting you know when her next book will be released, please visit: